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Irish rockers appreciate ‘Every Day Above Ground’

SPECIAL TO THE NEWS JOURNAL
Published 6:53 p.m. ET Dec. 22, 2014

Celtic-rock band The Fighting Jamesons will play the Dogfish Head brewpub in Rehoboth Beach at 10 p.m. Saturday.(Photo: Submitted)

Celtic rock act The Fighting Jamesons is first and foremost a live entity, but it is currently supporting a strong, new studio album titled “Every Day Above Ground.”

Based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the group has a wide swath of touring markets. It will bring its rowdy live show to Dogfish Head in Rehoboth Beach Saturday, followed by World Cafe Live in Philadelphia the next day. Lead guitarist George “Geo” Bauman checked in with us to reflect on his band’s tumultuous year.

Q: Now that 2015 is almost upon us, how do feel the past year has treated the band?

A: The last year has been a whirlwind. Honestly, it took a lot of effort to do the album. We lost two members in the middle of our recording process right before a big tour. Somehow we found two new members to replace the previous guys, and then we also added a third as well. We had to teach an entire new half of the band songs before a big run of shows — as well as the album itself so we could finish it in time. Everyone locked together really well and really fast.

Q: How has your fan base reacted to “Every Day Above Ground?”

A: The fan reaction has been awesome. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about the musical elements we added. To me personally, the album sounds so much bigger and touches multiple genres.

Q: This coming year will mark the band’s five-year anniversary; how has Virginia Beach been as a home base?

A: It’s been a pretty good home base for us. Most of us are all from the area down here, which is about three-and-a-half hours south of Rehoboth. The members of the military who are stationed here bring all walks of life from all around the country into one giant suburb, essentially. Our local shows have an array of people from ages 8 to 80. We’ve seen entire families together at shows, just because of the general love of Irish music.

Q: This will be your second time playing Rehoboth Beach; how was your Dogfish Head debut back in June?

A: I remember there being a lot of locals and some tourists buying each other rounds, dancing with strangers and yelling out requests. We felt very well received on our first visit.

Q: How have the band members juggled day jobs and touring as things have gotten busier?

A: At first, we mainly did weekend runs — and some three- to five-day stints here and there. Then we had our first big run and realized the potential schedule we could have. We all gave up our careers to devote more time and availability to the band. We’re all working part-time gigs and are lucky enough to still be able to go out on the road. We get to personally meet some of the awesome fans we converse with via Facebook/Twitter/Instagram. We’ve been on a two-month break, so it’ll feel really good to get out from behind the computer screen and see some people face to face. We love our fans, and we love a live show.